The upper traceable number of a graph

For a nontrivial connected graph G of order n and a linear ordering s: v ₁, v ₂, …, v _n of vertices of G, define . The traceable number t(G) of a graph G is t(G) = min{d(s)} and the upper traceable number t ⁺(G) of G is t ⁺(G) = max{d(s)}, where the minimum and maximum are taken over all linear orderings s of vertices of G. We study upper traceable numbers of several classes of graphs and the relationship between the traceable number and upper traceable number of a graph. All connected graphs G for which t ⁺(G) − t(G) = 1 are characterized and a formula for the upper traceable number of a tree is established. Research supported by Srinakharinwirot University, the Thailand Research Fund and the Commission on Higher Education, Thailand under the grant number MRG 5080075.     

On number system constructions

We investigate various number system constructions. After summarizing earlier results we prove that for a given lattice Λ and expansive matrix M: Λ → Λ if ρ(M ⁻¹) < 1/2 then there always exists a suitable digit set D for which (Λ, M, D) is a number system. Here ρ means the spectral radius of M ⁻¹. We shall prove further that if the polynomial f(x) = c ₀ + c ₁ x + ··· + c _k x ^k ∈ Z[x], c _k = 1 satisfies the condition |c ₀| > 2 Σ _i=1 ^k |c _i | then there is a suitable digit set D for which (Z ^k , M, D) is a number system, where M is the companion matrix of f(x). The research was supported by OTKA-T043657 and Bolyai Fellowship Committee.     

On the roots of independence polynomials of almost all very well-covered graphs

If s_k denotes the number of stable sets of cardinality k in graph G, and α(G) is the size of a maximum stable set, then is the independence polynomial of G [I. Gutman, F. Harary, Generalizations of the matching polynomial, Utilitas Math. 24 (1983) 97-106]. A graph G is very well-covered [O. Favaron, Very well-covered graphs, Discrete Math. 42 (1982) 177-187] if it has no isolated vertices, its order equals 2α(G) and it is well-covered, i.e., all its maximal independent sets are of the same size [M.D. Plummer, Some covering concepts in graphs, J. Combin. Theory 8 (1970) 91-98]. For instance, appending a single pendant edge to each vertex of G yields a very well-covered graph, which we denote by G^*. Under certain conditions, any well-covered graph equals G^* for some G [A. Finbow, B. Hartnell, R.J. Nowakowski, A characterization of well-covered graphs of girth 5 or greater, J. Combin. Theory Ser B 57 (1993) 44-68].The root of the smallest modulus of the independence polynomial of any graph is real [J.I. Brown, K. Dilcher, R.J. Nowakowski, Roots of independence polynomials of well-covered graphs, J. Algebraic Combin. 11 (2000) 197-210]. The location of the roots of the independence polynomial in the complex plane, and the multiplicity of the root of the smallest modulus are investigated in a number of articles.In this paper we establish formulae connecting the coefficients of I(G;x) and I(G^*;x), which allow us to show that the number of roots of I(G;x) is equal to the number of roots of I(G^*;x) different from -1, which appears as a root of multiplicity α(G^*)-α(G) for I(G^*;x). We also prove that the real roots of I(G^*;x) are in [-1,-1/2α(G^*)), while for a general graph of order n we show that its roots lie in |z|>1/(2n-1).Hoede and Li [Clique polynomials and independent set polynomials of graphs, Discrete Math. 125 (1994) 219-228] posed the problem of finding graphs that can be uniquely defined by their clique polynomials (clique-unique graphs). Stevanovic [Clique polynomials of threshold graphs, Univ. Beograd Publ. Elektrotehn. Fac., Ser. Mat. 8 (1997) 84-87] proved that threshold graphs are clique-unique. Here, we demonstrate that the independence polynomial distinguishes well-covered spiders among well-covered trees.     

Moment vanishing problem and positivity: Some examples

We consider the problem of vanishing of the momentswith Ω a compact domain in Rn and P(x), q(x) complex polynomials in x∈Ω (MVP). The main stress is on relations of this general vanishing problem to the following conjecture which has been studied recently in Mathieu (1997) [22], Duistermaat and van der Kallen (1998) [17], Zhao (2010) [34] and [35] and in other publications in connection with the vanishing problem for differential operators and with the Jacobian conjecture:

Conjecture A. 

For positive μ ifmk(P,1)=0fork=1,2,… , thenmk(P,q)=0fork?1for any q.     

Functions of normal operators under perturbations

In Peller (1980) [27], Peller (1985) [28], Aleksandrov and Peller (2009) [2], Aleksandrov and Peller (2010) [3], and Aleksandrov and Peller (2010) [4] sharp estimates for f(A)−f(B) were obtained for self-adjoint operators A and B and for various classes of functions f on the real line R. In this paper we extend those results to the case of functions of normal operators. We show that if a function f belongs to the Hölder class Λα(R²), 0<α<1, of functions of two variables, and N₁ and N₂ are normal operators, then ‖f(N₁)−f(N₂)‖?const‖fΛα_‖‖N₁−N₂α^‖. We obtain a more general result for functions in the space for an arbitrary modulus of continuity ω. We prove that if f belongs to the Besov class , then it is operator Lipschitz, i.e., . We also study properties of f(N₁)−f(N₂) in the case when f∈Λα(R²) and N₁−N₂ belongs to the Schatten–von Neumann class Sp.     

Maximal and minimal entry in the principal eigenvector for the distance matrix of a graph

Let G=(V,E) be a simple, connected and undirected graph with vertex set V(G) and edge set E(G). Also let D(G) be the distance matrix of a graph G (Jane?i? et al., 2007) [13]. Here we obtain Nordhaus–Gaddum-type result for the spectral radius of distance matrix of a graph.A sharp upper bound on the maximal entry in the principal eigenvector of an adjacency matrix and signless Laplacian matrix of a simple, connected and undirected graph are investigated in Das (2009) [4] and Papendieck and Recht (2000) [15]. Generally, an upper bound on the maximal entry in the principal eigenvector of a symmetric nonnegative matrix with zero diagonal entries and without zero diagonal entries are investigated in Zhao and Hong (2002) [21] and Das (2009) [4], respectively. In this paper, we obtain an upper bound on minimal entry in the principal eigenvector for the distance matrix of a graph and characterize extremal graphs. Moreover, we present the lower and upper bounds on maximal entry in the principal eigenvector for the distance matrix of a graph and characterize extremal graphs.     

deBruijn-like sequences and the irregular chromatic number of paths and cycles

A deBruijn sequence of orderk, or a k-deBruijn sequence, over an alphabet A is a sequence of length |A|^k in which the last element is considered adjacent to the first and every possible k-tuple from A appears exactly once as a string of k-consecutive elements in the sequence. We will say that a cyclic sequence is deBruijn-like if for some k, each of the consecutive k-element substrings is distinct.A vertex coloring χ:V(G)→[k] of a graph G is said to be proper if no pair of adjacent vertices in G receive the same color. Let C(v;χ) denote the multiset of colors assigned by a coloring χ to the neighbors of vertex v. A proper coloring χ of G is irregular if χ(u)=χ(v) implies that C(u;χ)≠C(v;χ). The minimum number of colors needed to irregularly color G is called the irregular chromatic number of G. The notion of the irregular chromatic number pairs nicely with other parameters aimed at distinguishing the vertices of a graph. In this paper, we demonstrate a connection between the irregular chromatic number of cycles and the existence of certain deBruijn-like sequences. We then determine the exact irregular chromatic number of C_n and P_n for n≥3, thus verifying two conjectures given by Okamoto, Radcliffe and Zhang.     

An additive divisor problem with a growing number of factors

Let τk(n) be the number of representations ofn as the product ofk positive factors, τ(n)=τ(n). The asymptotics of Σ _n≤x τ _k (n)τ(n+1) for 80k ¹⁰ (lnlnx)³≤lnx is shown to be uniform with respect tok. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 61, No. 3, pp. 391–406, March, 1997. Translated by N. K. Kulman     

A lower bound on the total signed domination numbers of graphs

Let G be a finite connected simple graph with a vertex set V(G)and an edge set E(G). A total signed domination function of G is a function f:V(G)∪E(G)→{-1,1}.The weight of f is W(f)=∑_(x∈V)(G)∪E(G))f(X).For an element x∈V(G)∪E(G),we define f[x]=∑_(y∈NT[x])f(y).A total signed domination function of G is a function f:V(G)∪E(G)→{-1,1} such that f[x]≥1 for all x∈V(G)∪E(G).The total signed domination numberγ_s~*(G)of G is the minimum weight of a total signed domination function on G. In this paper,we obtain some lower bounds for the total signed domination number of a graph G and compute the exact values ofγ_s~*(G)when G is C_n and P_n.     

The Roman <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-domatic number of a graph

Let k be a positive integer. A Roman k-dominating function on a graph G is a labeling f: V (G) → {0, 1, 2} such that every vertex with label 0 has at least k neighbors with label 2. A set {f ₁, f ₂, …, f _d } of distinct Roman k-dominating functions on G with the property that Σ _i=1 ^d f _i (v) ≤ 2 for each v ∈ V (G), is called a Roman k-dominating family (of functions) on G. The maximum number of functions in a Roman k-dominating family on G is the Roman k-domatic number of G, denoted by d _kR (G). Note that the Roman 1-domatic number d _1R (G) is the usual Roman domatic number d _R (G). In this paper we initiate the study of the Roman k-domatic number in graphs and we present sharp bounds for d _kR (G). In addition, we determine the Roman k-domatic number of some graphs. Some of our results extend those given by Sheikholeslami and Volkmann in 2010 for the Roman domatic number.     

Weak Cayley table groups III: PSL(2,q)

A weak Cayley table isomorphism is a bijection φ:G→H of groups such that φ(xy)～φ(x)φ(y) for all x,y∈G. Here ～ denotes conjugacy. When G = H the set of all weak Cayley table isomorphisms φ:G→G forms a group 𝒲(G) that contains the automorphism group Aut(G) and the inverse map I:G→G,x?x^?1. Let 𝒲₀(G) = ?Aut(G),I?≤𝒲(G) and say that G has trivial weak Cayley table group if 𝒲(G) = 𝒲₀(G). We show that PSL(2,pⁿ) has trivial weak Cayley table group, where p≥5 is a prime and n≥1.     

On the Range of Possible Integrities of Graphs G(n, k)

We discuss the range of values for the integrity of a graphs G(n, k) where G(n, k) denotes a simple graph with n vertices and k edges. Let I _max(n, k) and I _min(n, k) be the maximal and minimal value for the integrity of all possible G(n, k) graphs and let the difference be D(n, k) = I _max(n, k) − I _min(n, k). In this paper we give some exact values and several lower bounds of D(n, k) for various values of n and k. For some special values of n and for s < n ^1/4 we construct examples of graphs G _n  = G _n (n, n + s) with a maximal integrity of I(G _n ) = I(C _n ) + s where C _n is the cycle with n vertices. We show that for k = n ²/6 the value of D(n, n ²/6) is at least \frac?6-13n{\frac{\sqrt{6}-1}{3}n} for large n.     

On two generalizations of the Alon–Tarsi polynomial method

In a seminal paper (Alon and Tarsi, 1992 [6]), Alon and Tarsi have introduced an algebraic technique for proving upper bounds on the choice number of graphs (and thus, in particular, upper bounds on their chromatic number). The upper bound on the choice number of G obtained via their method, was later coined the Alon–Tarsi number of G and was denoted by AT(G) (see e.g. Jensen and Toft (1995) [20]). They have provided a combinatorial interpretation of this parameter in terms of the eulerian subdigraphs of an appropriate orientation of G. Their characterization can be restated as follows. Let D be an orientation of G. Assign a weight ωD(H) to every subdigraph H of D: if H⊆D is eulerian, then ωD(H)=(−1)^e(H), otherwise ωD(H)=0. Alon and Tarsi proved that AT(G)?k if and only if there exists an orientation D of G in which the out-degree of every vertex is strictly less than k, and moreover _∑H⊆DωD(H)≠0. Shortly afterwards (Alon, 1993 [3]), for the special case of line graphs of d-regular d-edge-colorable graphs, Alon gave another interpretation of AT(G), this time in terms of the signed d-colorings of the line graph. In this paper we generalize both results. The first characterization is generalized by showing that there is an infinite family of weight functions (which includes the one considered by Alon and Tarsi), each of which can be used to characterize AT(G). The second characterization is generalized to all graphs (in fact the result is even more general—in particular it applies to hypergraphs). We then use the second generalization to prove that χ(G)=ch(G)=AT(G) holds for certain families of graphs G. Some of these results generalize certain known choosability results.     

On the computation of the hull number of a graph

Let G be a graph. If u,v∈V(G), a u-vshortest path of G is a path linking u and v with minimum number of edges. The closed interval I[u,v] consists of all vertices lying in some u-v shortest path of G. For S⊆V(G), the set I[S] is the union of all sets I[u,v] for u,v∈S. We say that S is a convex set if I[S]=S. The convex hull of S, denoted I_h[S], is the smallest convex set containing S. A set S is a hull set of G if I_h[S]=V(G). The cardinality of a minimum hull set of G is the hull number of G, denoted by hn(G). In this work we prove that deciding whether hn(G)≤k is NP-complete.We also present polynomial-time algorithms for computing hn(G) when G is a unit interval graph, a cograph or a split graph.     

On thek dimensional Piatetski-Shapiro prime number theorem

Thek-dimensional Piatetski-Shapiro prime number problem fork⩾3 is studied. Let π(x ₁ c ₁,⋯,c _k ) denote the number of primesp withp⩽x, , where 1<c ₁<⋯<c _k are fixed constants. It is proved that π(x;c ₁,⋯,c _k ) has an asymptotic formula ifc ₁ ⁻¹ +⋯+c _k ⁻¹ >k−k/(4k ²+2). Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 19801021) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No.Q98A02110).     

Structures and Chromaticity of Extremal 3-Colourable Sparse Graphs

 Assume that G is a 3-colourable connected graph with e(G) = 2v(G) −k, where k≥ 4. It has been shown that s ₃(G) ≥ 2 ^{k −3}, where s _r (G) = P(G,r)/r! for any positive integer r and P(G, λ) is the chromatic polynomial of G. In this paper, we prove that if G is 2-connected and s ₃(G) < 2 ^{k −2}, then G contains at most v(G) −k triangles; and the upper bound is attained only if G is a graph obtained by replacing each edge in the k-cycle C _k by a 2-tree. By using this result, we settle the problem of determining if W(n, s) is χ-unique, where W(n, s) is the graph obtained from the wheel W _n by deleting all but s consecutive spokes. Received: January 29, 1999 Final version received: April 8, 2000     

Some Notes on Signed Edge Domination in Graphs

The closed neighborhood N_G[e] of an edge e in a graph G is the set consisting of e and of all edges having an end-vertex in common with e. Let f be a function on E(G), the edge set of G, into the set {−1, 1}. If for each e ∈ E(G), then f is called a signed edge dominating function of G. The signed edge domination number γ_s^′(G) of G is defined as . Recently, Xu proved that γ_s^′(G) ≥ |V(G)| − |E(G)| for all graphs G without isolated vertices. In this paper we first characterize all simple connected graphs G for which γ_s^′(G) = |V(G)| − |E(G)|. This answers Problem 4.2 of [4]. Then we classify all simple connected graphs G with precisely k cycles and γ_s^′(G) = 1 − k, 2 − k. A. Khodkar: Research supported by a Faculty Research Grant, University of West Georgia. Send offprint requests to: Abdollah Khodkar.     

Edge‐face chromatic number and edge chromatic number of simple plane graphs

Given a simple plane graph G, an edge‐face k‐coloring of G is a function ? : E(G) ∪ F(G) → {1,…,k} such that, for any two adjacent or incident elements a, b ∈ E(G) ∪ F(G), ?(a) ≠ ?(b). Let χ_e(G), χ_ef(G), and Δ(G) denote the edge chromatic number, the edge‐face chromatic number, and the maximum degree of G, respectively. In this paper, we prove that χ_ef(G) = χ_e(G) = Δ(G) for any 2‐connected simple plane graph G with Δ (G) ≥ 24. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Inequalities for the first‐fit chromatic number

The First‐Fit (or Grundy) chromatic number of G, written as χ_FF(G), is defined as the maximum number of classes in an ordered partition of V(G) into independent sets so that each vertex has a neighbor in each set earlier than its own. The well‐known Nordhaus‐‐Gaddum inequality states that the sum of the ordinary chromatic numbers of an n‐vertex graph and its complement is at most n + 1. Zaker suggested finding the analogous inequality for the First‐Fit chromatic number. We show for n ≥ 10 that ?(5n + 2)/4? is an upper bound, and this is sharp. We extend the problem for multicolorings as well and prove asymptotic results for infinitely many cases. We also show that the smallest order of C₄‐free bipartite graphs with χ_FF(G) = k is asymptotically 2k² (the upper bound answers a problem of Zaker [9]). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 59: 75–88, 2008     

A diffusion-type process with a given joint law for the terminal level and supremum at an independent exponential time

We construct a weak solution to the stochastic functional differential equation , where M_t=sup_0≤s≤tX_s. Using the excursion theory, we then solve explicitly the following problem: for a natural class of joint density functions μ(y,b), we specify σ(.,.), so that X is a martingale, and the terminal level and supremum of X, when stopped at an independent exponential time ξ_λ, is distributed according to μ. We can view (X_t∧ξλ) as an alternate solution to the problem of finding a continuous local martingale with a given joint law for the maximum and the drawdown, which was originally solved by Rogers (1993) [21] using the excursion theory. This complements the recent work of Carr (2009) [5] and Cox et al. (2010) [7], who consider a standard one-dimensional diffusion evaluated at an independent exponential time.¹